Jamie Foxx Developing Horror Anthology For Syfy

After years of derision from genre fans for changing the network’s name, it looks like Syfy is finally getting in touch with their roots. At the upfront presentation, the network announced a slew of new scripted science fiction/horror shows that are currently in development. One such high profile project is a series that has Jamie Foxx not only executive producing, but also writing, directing and possible starring.

The project currently has no title but is said to be a five part horror anthology. Foxx is currently in New York filming ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ playing the role of Max Dillion, a.k.a. Electro, but he plans to get production rolling sometime during the summer.

The series is said to be in the vein of the classic series ‘Tales from the Crypt’ and ‘The Twilight Zone’ with each half hour episode dealing with “creepy morality tales with themes such as envy, jealousy and superficiality.”

In a press release, Foxx commented about his anthology:

“This is a project that I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m so happy to see it come to life. Get ready to lose it when some special friends and I bring the scares this October, and who knows… maybe I’ll make a guest appearance or two along the way!”

While no mention of who will be joining Foxx on the series, listed writers for the series include Mike Ferris (‘Terminator: Salvation’, ‘Catwoman’) and John Pogue (‘Army Wives’, ‘Everwood’).

Mark Stern, President of Original Content at Syfy and Co-Head of Original Content at Universal Cable Productions expressed his excitement about working with Foxx:

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with someone as talented and multifaceted as Jamie Foxx. His passion and unique perspective will transform these universal insights on the human condition into emotionally potent and truly scary cautionary tales.”

While the idea of Foxx coming back to the small screen sounds exciting, the idea of an anthology series with a different story each week gives pause. Many have tried to recreate that ‘Twilight Zone’/’Outer Limits’ feel and success, but have completely failed in their attempts. The fact that there will only be 5 episodes does indicate that both Syfy and Foxx are using this as a means to test the waters. If the viewer numbers are there, we may see a full season of the series.

Foxx’ anthology series is set to premiere in October as part of their “31 Days of Halloween’ programming marathon.

Janice Kay

Janice's first memories of the genre were of watching the original 'Star Trek' and classic 'Doctor Who' episodes (Tom Baker, aka the Fourth Doctor, was her first). Soon, she was introduced to 'Godzilla' and her addiction then spread to books, magazines, movies and comics. Janice continued as a closet geek as her thirst and love for sci-fi grew and was only second to her love of baking. Then one night, on a whim, she answered a tweet to be a writer for ScienceFiction.com and the geek girl insider her was soon set free. Within 3 years she became the Senior Editor for the site. When not writing or editing for ScienceFiction.com, Janice is scouring the internet to feed her sci-fi cravings while defending conspiracy theories, protecting scientific theorems and loving all things science fiction.... and baking cookies.